


View of Another Life

by TheFParisCat



Category: Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Genre: F/M, JA Secret Santa 2016, Marriage Proposal, Voyeurism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 16:04:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12987561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheFParisCat/pseuds/TheFParisCat
Summary: Kalique watches Caine and Jupiter's lives with way more emotional investment than she wants to let on. Also, Caine proposes to Jupiter.





	1. Chapter 1

Kalique grabbed a bag of taffy, sat on the couch in one of her living rooms, and turned on the holographic viewer. Jupiter’s splice—what was his name again?—was pacing in a shabby house with a man and a girl. They all appeared rather animated. Beehives were taking up corners and bees were buzzing all over the place.

“Audio,” she said softly. The forms jumped out of their mute state.

“Caine, will you please calm down?” the man said, looking exasperated.

 

Ah, yes. That was the splice’s name. He was just as well made as ever. He was wearing a brown leather jacket, a skintight black undershirt that betrayed his sculpted abs, and slightly frayed jeans. Kalique smiled and popped a orange taffy in her mouth. 

 

She’d started checking up on Jupiter and Caine fairly frequently for the past year, ever since Balem had stepped back into her and Titus’s lives.At first, it had been out of a sort of neighborly concern. Kalique had worried that Balem would torment the pair some more and try to reclaim the Earth, and should any incident start, Kalique wanted to snuff it out as quickly as possible. But soon, her interest had grown more…strange. Sure, she enjoyed looking at Caine. He had a natural sexiness to him, not forced like the gigolos she’d been with in the past. But there was now some other pull she couldn’t explain. She’d started to become… _interested_ in their lives. 

 

She was honestly enjoying her voyeuristic behavior. And she had no intention of stopping any time soon.

 

“Caine!” the other man shouted. Caine stopped pacing and whirled around, giving him an icy stare. 

 

“Stinger, I can’t.” Oh, that was the man’s name. He had dusty blond hair and gold eyes that seemed to be flashing. Probably another splice, though not a wolf one. Kalique wondered how they knew each other.

 

Stinger glanced at the girl. “Kiza—”

 

She nodded her understanding. “Come on, Caine,” Kiza said as she placed her hand on Caine’s shoulder. Her hair was blonder than Stinger’s and her eyes were a cloudy blue. “Let’s just talk this out. I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think.”Caine’s shoulders sagged and his ears flopped. He walked to their shabby couch and sat in the middle, head in his hands. The girl and Stinger sat on either side of him. The girl started rubbing his back. “All right. What happened?”

 

Caine sighed. “I met Jupiter’s family today.”

 

Kiza grinned. “That’s great!” Her face fell as Caine didn’t move. “Or not. Did they flip when they found out that you’re not human?”

 

Caine lifted his head. “They didn’t find out. Jupiter said I did something in the CIA. That I’d been apart of some experiments and I often had to go on long assignments.”

“Did they buy it?”

Caine shrugged. “I’m pretty sure. There wasn’t a better explanation. Besides, it’s not far from the truth.”

Kiza gave a sigh of relief. “Well, thank goodness for that. But what’s got you so worried?”

“It was going well, I guess. Then we were eating, and then this older man said ‘Wow, Jupiter, you better marry this one. He can stand your head that’s always in the clouds.’ Then Jupiter’s mom, Aleksa, she glared at him and started yelling in Russian. Then someone else started yelling, and more people joined in, and then everyone was arguing. Jupiter said we had to leave early and pulled me out of there.”

Kiza laughed. “So, you accidentally caused a fight. It probably happens all the time in that house. Nothing to worry about.”

Caine put his head in his hands again. “That wasn’t the worst part.”


	2. Chapter 2

They were walking on Montrose Beach, watching Lake Michigan. Jupiter kept pushing her hair behind her ears and avoiding his eye, signs that she was nervous. Caine wasn’t sure whether he should ask her about it or wait until she spoke. 

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Jupiter spoke. “I’m sorry about Vassily. He doesn’t think before he speaks sometimes.” She sighed. “More like all the time.”

“It’s fine.”

Jupiter chuckled. “I mean, come on. Intergalactic marriage didn't exactly work out for me last time.” She paused, grabbed his arm, and looked up at him. “Not that I’m comparing you to Titus. Well, I am, but well. You’re a million times better than Titus. I’d love to marry you.” She froze, her hands flew to her mouth and her eyes widened. “You, know what, Caine? I…um, I need to go.” She practically ran back the way they came, leaving Caine shocked and petrified.


	3. Chapter 3

Kizawas staring at Caine, mouth agape. “Her majesty wants to marry you? That’s amazing, Caine!”

“That’s exactly what I told him, Kiza,” Stinger said with a sigh. “But he’s buzzing put over it.”

Kiza frowned. “What? Why?” 

Caine stood up. “Because I’m a splice. I can’t become an Entitled.”

Kalique froze. She thought of her brother’s decision with remorse and bitterness. She wasn’t sure how long it would take her to let go of Titus’s choice to marry a splice, but the anger was already subsiding, even after a year. Perhaps her rage would never completely subside.

“Why not?” Kiza said as she stood up and stomped over to Caine. “Caine, she wants this! You’re not forcing this on her or nothin’. What’s wrong?”

“It’s just…not right, Kiza.”

“So let me get this straight,” Stinger said from the couch. “You were willing to go on a suicide mission to save her, but marrying her is too much for you?”

“You know those aren’t the same,” Caine snapped as he glowered at Stinger. “I can never rise above what you are, a meaningless, interchangeable splice.”

“You know that’s not true!” Stinger yelled. 

Caine looked away. “Do I?”

Stinger threw his hands in the air and stormed out of the room. Kiza watched him go, then turned back to Caine. “Do you love her, Caine?”

Caine looked down and nodded. 

“Do you plan on not loving her any time soon?”

Caine gave her a slight smile and shook his head. 

Kiza smiled. “And I think she meant what she said. I think her majesty loves you and wants to marry you. And if you love her and want to marry her too, then you’ll just have to be the first Entitled splice.” 

Caine nodded. “Okay. But you’re going to have to help me pick out a ring. I don’t know how to do that.”Kiza smiled and pulled him in for a hug. They stayed like for a few moments, then they parted and Caine left the house. 

Kalique turned off the holographic image. The shabby house dissolved into the splendor she knew and loved. She glanced at her bag of taffy, shocked at how little she had eaten. She supposed that she had, once again, become for too invested in the proceedings of Jupiter Jones and Caine Wise. 

Part of her longed for anger. A non-Entitled, and a _splice_ no less, was going to ask her mother’s recurrence to marry him. The nerve! 

However, her head was conflicting with her heart. Kalique had found that she, quite horribly, _adored_ the two of them together. She’d never seen her mother as happy as Jupiter was when she was with Caine. She hoped that her mother’s new self could find happiness. 

Even if that happiness was to be found in a splice.


	4. Chapter 4

Three months later, Kalique went into her holographic room with a box of truffles, a basket of macaroons, and a bottle of merlot. She turned the image on. Her room changed to Caine’s apartment. The place had grey walls and sparse, functional furniture. Kalique hoped that Jupiter had better taste.

From what she had gathered from her other recent viewings, this was the night that Caine was going to propose to Jupiter. Why that made her giddy she couldn’t fathom. 

She turned the sound on. Caine was walking in front of her, looking nervous. 

“You’re handling my family pretty well,” Jupiter said as she glanced around the apartment and took off her coat. She was wearing a red billowy shirt, dark blue jeans, and black boots. From what Kalique could tell, she had curled her hair, but it was starting to loosen. Caine was sporting an all black ensemble, with a turtleneck, pants, leather jacket, and boots. 

“That went well?” He stared at her in confusion. “But they fought again.”

She shrugged. “That happens all the time. Vladie is just really bad at saving his money. Or anybody else’s, for that matter.”

Caine frowned. “Do all Earth families argue like that?”

Jupiter chuckled. “I doubt it.”

He nodded then suddenly looked sheepish. “I…well, Kiza walked me through this, but I’m already blanking.” He took off his jacket, slipping a box into his pocket.

Jupiter cocked her head to the side. “What’s wrong, Caine?”

“Nothing, I just…I got you a Christmas gift, and I wanted to give it to you now.”

Jupiter’s eyes widened. “Oh, Caine, you didn’t have to do that! And I didn’t bring mine with me!”

“No, that’s fine. I just wanted to do this tonight.”

She smiled. “Sure. Go ahead.”

Caine took a deep breath, then got down on one knee. Jupiter gasped and took a step back. He took the box out from his pocket and opened it. Inside there was a ring. It was a cloudy stone with two golden hands clasping it in place.

“I know I’m not exactly your world’s definition of normal, Jupiter.” He said as he gazed up at her. “I’m not even normal in my kind. I…don’t deserve you. But I love you, Jupiter Jones. And I don’t ever want to let you go. Will you marry me?”

Jupiter started crying. Caine’s face fell. She saw his reaction and grabbed his hand. “Yes, yes, a thousands times yes, Caine.”

He beamed and stood up. His wings stretched out before he wrapped them around her and kissed her. 

Kalique smiled, and after a few moments turned the image off. She frowned at her uneaten food and shook her head. 

For some reason she could not understand, she was overjoyed at Caine’s success at winning her mother’s recurrence. And she wished them the best. What she couldn’t understand was the odd sadness forming in the pit of her stomach.

Clearly it was the lack of food.

She grinned at the food. “Well, I’ll just have to take care of that, won’t I?”

She grabbed the macaroons, the truffles and the merlot and walked out, quelling her desire to skip.

 


End file.
